Real Estate has been more of a traditional industry with most of the work still done the old way. But real estate apps like Zillow, Trulia, and 99 acres are changing the scenario. Tech has entered Real Estate, and the response it has got from the customers is overwhelming.
The cost to develop a real estate mobile app will range from $20,000 to $30,000, but will further vary based on your requirements and the technologies and real estate mobile app features you opt to integrate into your Real Estate app. The Real estate app development cost will increase with the number of features that you add to the app.
The Real Estate market will grow to $ 12.7 Trillion by 2022, and there is a big opportunity for Real Estate mobile apps in the segment. Thus, thinking from an entrepreneurs perspective the benefits of real estate app is more lucrative based on the investment in real estate app development. As is evident from the below infographic, 50% of home buyers found their next home online.
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House for sale apps enables people to search house based on a couple of factors such as budget, location, accessories needs, and others. The hunt for a house gets ended at the fingertips and people get optimal options to find their desired property.
The marketplace app provides a platform for all the property owners to list their property for sale and users get the list of properties they are looking for based on specific criteria. The users can select the property that they find an as good fit and then connect with the property seller with messaging.
The app is especially aimed at real estate agents who can list the services and ways to connect them for smooth transactions. After registering on the app, the agents can start listing services and serving customers.
Not all people are interested in buying property. That’s where a property rental is a good option. The app facilitates searching all the properties for rent based on location, amenities, and price, and then connects with the respective rent service provider so that people can get the property in a particular location hassle-free.
An aggregator app is a type of app that provides a platform for the buyers and sellers registered on the app. The role of the app is limited to providing necessary information about the listed properties to buyers and sellers; the mobile app acts as a marketplace.
This kind of app is developed specifically for a Real Estate Company. It contains all the details about the company’s properties segregated according to various parameters like location, price, and date of completion.
These kinds of apps help in guiding the customer via indoor spaces like huge malls. Using the sensors already available on a mobile, the app can inform the customer about various details inside the enclosed space like the best restaurant and the location of washrooms and drinking water points.
You can monetize your real estate mobile app by allowing ads on your app. You can have various service providers like interior decorators, and other related businesses, architects and furniture dealers interested in putting up ads for their services on your app. You can also sign-up for in-app advertisements to be shown to the user on certain spaces and sections in the mobile app.
Subscription packages for sellers: You can sell subscription packages to sellers which can include 10-15 listings for a month and other features that the basic sellers won’t have access to.
Commission Based App: You can charge for a small commission from brokers. For eg, you can have a small percentage of commission from the broker for every property he/she successfully sells. If a broker has listed 15 properties on your real estate app, and out of that he/she has been successful in selling 5 of them through your app then the broker will pay the commission for those 5 houses.
Featured listings: Those sellers who want to list their profile and properties on top of the app for maximum exposure of their properties pay an extra amount according to paid plans. Paid featured listing services on your app list the properties till they have a plan.
Third-Party Advertisement: Real estate when scored enough popularity can opt for allowing third-party businesses to post their ads at different locations. The cost of placing ads at a different location is different and you will continuously earn for every impression, click, and visit.
Premium Subscription: The users interested in real estate business can opt for premium subscription plans such as monthly, quarterly, or annually to enjoy special services such as ad-free versions, alerts for new property addition, and others.
To know about the top features to include in a real estate app for different types of users you should first have a brief idea about the top real estate apps and trends in the market.
Let’s have a look at the basic real estate mobile app feature that should be included in the Seller, Buyer, and Admin panel.
Let’s have a look at the features that should be included in the Real Estate App for the sellers;
Let’s have a look at the features that should be included in the Real Estate App for the buyers;
Let’s have a look at the real estate mobile app features that should be included in the Real Estate App for the Admins;
Apart from the above listed basic real estate app features, you can include the following advanced features in your real estate mobile app which will make your mobile app stand out from the competition.
The 3d property view is an outstanding feature that allows users to get a ‘feel’ of the property without the hassle of visiting it physically. You can add this feature as a premium feature, available to only certain users.
Users will be able to post the properties posted on your app on their social media. This would drive traffic on the app as more people would know about the property.
Your app can help the user get an idea about the estimated E.M.I. and down payment the person will have to pay based on varying terms for a loan to buy the property that the user would be interested in. You can tie up with third parties like banks and other loan-providing agencies using loan lending apps for this to provide more precise information. A button should be provided that explicitly asks for permission of the user regarding whether the banks should contact the user for further discussion on loan or not. Adding such a feature would ensure better with the user.
Users would get push notifications whenever they pass by a property in which they have expressed interest in your app.
Using AR and VR technology, the sellers can give a virtual tour of the property to the buyers. This feature will generate more qualified leads for the sellers and also waste less time for the buyer in viewing the property physically.
Security is a big concern for property buyers. Here you can help them in taking an informed decision by providing the data of crime in the neighbourhood over one year. You can get this data from the local police station.
Multiple Listing Service is a database of real estate properties that is maintained by professionals working in the real estate industry. Once the M.L.S. integration is complete, the leads generated on various portals maintained by different real-estate professionals will be integrated on a single portal. It helps the real estate professionals in providing their client with a much more massive database of available properties.
Technology stack required to build the Real Estate app
App development cost for a business solution varies from company to company depending on the features & technologies choose to integrate into your app and the country from which your Real Estate app development company operates. Let’s have a look at how the cost range for various countries matter based on the location of the app development company you look to partner with:
With better insight into the real estate app development cost in various countries let’s now check how much it will cost to build one.
Payment Gateways: Payment gateways like visa, master card, and PayPal can be integrated with the app using solutions provided by companies like Braintree and Stripe.
Data Storage: The data can be stored on the cloud to make the process of storing data cost-effectively. We can use third-party service providers like Microsoft Azure and Amazon web services (A.W.S.).
UI/UX: Design of the app can be developed using Adobe UI/UX package, CSS, HTML5.
Coding & Platforms: We can use coding languages like Java, Kotlin, Python, , JavaScript, PHP, Swift to write your code. We can also use app development frameworks likes React Native, Flutter and ionic for cross-platform app development.
Analytics: GCP (cloud data analytics by Google) or Microsoft Analytics could be used to integrate data analytics into your app.
SMS and verification via phone and voice: Plivo, Bandwidth, and Twillo can be used to integrate verification through voice and phone via SMS.
Push notifications: Applications like Twillo, push.io, Firebase, Apple push notification service will help the real estate app developers in integrating push notifications to your app.
Realm, MYSQL, Firebase or CoreData: These will help in managing the list of saved properties.
Social media signup/sign in: You will need to integrate various SDKs like Facebook SDK, LinkedinSDK, Google and Twitter SDK to include a social media sign up and sign-in option.
Developing a mobile app usually needs a team that consists of UI-UX designers, developers, Quality Assurance Engineers, Technical Team Leads and Project Managers involved during the different phases in the whole app development cycle.For developing a basic app, you will require
Deploying the services of a trusted app development partner will ensure that you build that perfect mobile app development for real estate. With experience comes expertise and working with a good service provider in the industry you get the best service. Building a good quality real-estate app takes a lot of expertise, and you should look for an experienced mobile app development company that can provide you with the necessary resources and post-development support.
Want to Create Your Own Custom Real Estate App?
The real estate industry is a highly compliant industry where businesses face legal and compliant-related difficulties that must be dealt with smartly. They are-
Considering an experienced consultant would help you to make your app comply with all the rules and regulations for better results.
Real estate apps can make money using various monetization models such as selling ad slots to third-party businesses, featured listing for real estate agents, subscription model, commission on every transaction, and others.
Before jumping on the real estate app development bandwagon, you should consider the following things to make the investment pay off. They are-
The real estate app is developed uniquely with some specifics. It’s a step-by-step process that involves-
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